It is always good to gather with friends, but it is especially good to gather with friends who value what you spend your life doing.
The value that you have placed upon the work of the Nurturing Network can be measured in many ways – only one of which is financial. You have signaled by your generosity that life is precious, that we can find room at the table for one more, that hope is possible and can even be victorious in the darkest of hours or most discouraging of circumstances. The impact and significance of your generous gift can perhaps best be measured by the literally hundreds of mothers’ and children’s’ lives you will now touch with the resources of the Nurturing Network.
It is fair to say that very few of us expect that we will ever be called upon to save a human life. (We tend to dismiss such a noble act as reserved exclusively for high-risk professions like policemen, firefighters or doctors.) However, I can assure you that each of you who participated in this decision to give the Nurturing Network this generous gift will do just that. If I could give just one small gift back to you this evening, it would be to share that poignant moment –that turning point—when a mother realizes that she is not going to have to face the most vulnerable time in her life alone. That someone truly cares—cares enough to share in her pain and help to meet her practical needs. At that moment when she recognizes that the tiny life within her actually has a chance at life—that she has permission to proceed in the adventure of motherhood—I will remember you. I thank you on behalf of all 22,000 of our volunteers around the world and the 11,000 living profiles in courage whom we have been privileged to serve.